Additionally, some traditional awards were given out as well and they are as follows:

Newcomer of the Year was awarded to Takeim Wooten who started the season knowing nothing at all about rugby but picked things up steadily as the season progressed and became a valuable contributor for the Nomads.

Most Improved Player was awarded to Uriah Fortson whose game took off once he was moved from wing to flanker and given an opportunity to involve himself in the action on a constant basis. It was also noted that Fortson’s tackling improved dramatically as the season progressed and he has made himself into a solid defensive player.

The Backs MVP was Minh Tran who stepped up his communication on the field this year and embraced the natural leadership role of a good scrum half.

The Forwards MVP was Nasair Boston-Epps a very athletic young man who has a ton of potential to continue developing into a great player and whose enthusiasm for the game is enormous.

The Coaches’ Award went to Pablo Barrios-Cruz who set a good example for his teammates, showed a lot of responsibility, and assisted the Coaching Staff with whatever they needed help getting done off the field.

Schuylkill River Rugby salutes the Nomads for all of their hard work this season as well as the Nomads’ Coaching Staff for their role in the continued development of these players. We’re looking forward to seeing you guys back on the field in 2018!

The Schuylkill River Rugby U-23 Academy 7s team made a big impact this year at the Collegiate Rugby Championship (https://www.usasevenscrc.com/) in Chester PA over the weekend. The following individuals participated in the event and have previously played/coached for Schuylkill River. This list doesn’t include all of the new players that played in the CRC and will be joining Schuylkill this summer.

In the Challenge Cup division the West Chester Golden Rams were coached by Schuylkill player Ty Anderson and led on the field by John King and Brian Keown. King has the added distinction of being a 4 year player in Second City Troop’s youth program (Troop and Schuylkill merged in 2015) making him our first player to pipeline through one of our youth programs into the Academy and then onto the men’s team while also playing in the CRC along the way. Nice work John!

Joining West Chester in the Challenge Cup division were the Villanova Wildcats who are coached by our U-23 Academy 7s coach Biddy Boyle and are lead on the field by prop Matt Hughes. The Drexel Dragons also took part in this year’s Challenge Cup and were coached by Mike Burch who is Schuylkill’s assistant 7s coach.

In the Championship division the University of Delaware Blue Hens returned to the national stage featuring Schuylkill players John McCurdy and Grayson Haynes. The St. Joe’s Hawks featured Schuylkill player Chris Curcio. The Temple Owls were represented by Lenny Ramos. Last, but certainly not least, the Kutztown Golden Bears had 5 Schuylkill players on their roster including Samuel Devine, Jason DeNofa, Dave Snead, Alex Faison-Donohue, and Angel Santiago in addition to their coach Doc Jones who helps manage Schuylkill River’s 7s program.

Schuylkill River is proud of what all of these great players have accomplished and we are happy that our summer 7s program has helped them along the way. We look forward to developing even more talent in the summer of 2017 and invite all players, regardless of age, to come out and join us.

Schuylkill River’s Director of Social Events, Austin Lucas, is putting together a tailgate for those heading to Chester this Saturday for the College Rugby Championships. The carpool is meeting up at 8am at Front & Reed in Philadelphia before heading to the stadium. Once there the guys intend to set up in the Lot B VIP parking area which can be found on the map on the Union’s website (https://www.philadelphiaunion.com/post/2016/04/07/matchday-guide-union-vs-orlando-city-sc). For those who are 21 or older there will be a keg of Yards and there will also be some food as well. Austin will also have some extra tickets to the CRC available for purchase.

We will field Premier, Open, and U23 teams. We will have as many sides as the numbers warrant. Our 7’s program is open to all players, regardless of experience, and 15s club affiliation, so please invite your friends and teammates. Any player can play on Men’s Premier vying for a shot at the National title. We had 6 players under 23 make that side last year, and 3 started off on the U23 team. In 2016, our Men’s Premier side won the MAC Premier Title, and the U23 Academy side won the MAC Open Title.

Philadelphia, Pa- Mid Atlantic Men’s Open Champions, 21-5 overall record, and a winning streak that hit 17 games spanning 4 tournaments. For any observer, those stats jump out at you, when you consider those accomplishments were garnered by a group under 23 year olds against some of the best men’s clubs in the Mid-Atlantic, it’s astounding. “It’s our first tournament and first match together, some guys don’t even know each other’s names yet, and we lose by 1 point on the last play of the game.

I had that moment of let’s see how they react? I’d be lying if I told you I think we’d win our next 17 games, but I will say, I knew very quickly, that yes this group had that potential and they realized it very quickly” beamed SR U23 Coach William “Biddy” Boyle.

Schuylkill River’s U23 Academy side lost their first ever game to a local select-side of sorts, Molly Maguires, but would run off 5 straight wins that day to win the Plate Championship at North Penn 7s. After that, the young lads from Philadelphia were thrusted into the Mid Atlantic qualifier series. 10 wins later, SR U23 hoisted the Men’s Open Finals trophy at the first 2 qualifiers. They would stretch the winning streak by 2 before finally losing a match in 3rd Mid-Atlantic Qualifier. When the summer ended, 2 firsts, a fourth, and a second place were more than enough for the U23 squad to capture the 2016 Mid-Atlantic Men’s Open Championship.

Championships aside, perhaps the greatest accomplishments of the U23 program was that 3 members of the squad worked their way onto the Premier side throughout the summer, and represented the club at Nationals in Denver, CO. That doesn’t include 3 other players who were U23, but only suited up for the Premier side. “As happy I was to win the title, watching those players move up to the premier side, and play at Nationals on that stage was my proudest moment as their coach. It was also so special to see their teammates just as happy for them, and I told those guys your teammates got you here by pushing you, so it was huge for the program not just those individuals” explained Boyle.

Heading into year 2, expectations are higher than ever, as the U23 Academy will be fielding multiple sides. “I am excited to get back to work with this group, especially as we anticipate fielding multiple sides just in our U23 program. Our goal is always to develop players, and that happens with competition within the U23 Academy, but I also tell the boys you need to go after those guys on the premier side and take their spot. Our practices will be more hostile than Saturday” said a sheepish Boyle.

Established in 2008, Schuylkill River 7s Program has risen to one of the most well-known and accomplished 7s outfits in the country following the ethos of player development. Head Coach, Chris “Pudge” Ryan, who coaches the Men’s Premier team and oversees all the coaches in the program, said it best, “I have said for many years, and truly believe that a summer in our program whether that be on the Academy, or men’s side will enhance your game more significantly than anywhere in the country over that time period. We have a consistently seen, and will only get more prevalent, 7s programs pop up, promise you the world and deliver little at your expense., We lay our hat on the results, the development of our players, and the feedback coaches and national selectors have given us for almost a decade. Don’t get me wrong, we have strong roots with Atlantis, are a Tiger affiliate program, and consider APRTC dear friends, so we believe and support in those outfits, but that doesn’t overshadow how much my coaches and me believe in our program.”

Schuylkill River 7s program was established in 2008, Since that time, SR has qualified for the USA Rugby 7s National Championship 7 times, winning the MAC Championship 5 times, and is the defending 2016 Men’s Premier and Open Champions. The program has produced 4 National Camp invitees, 8 Collegiate All-Americans, and over 25 players have gone onto play for U.S. select/touring sides.